Republican lawmaker blasts Revenue Department over sold property breach


Published: July 26, 2012
Tags: property tax, Revenue Department, Tyler August

A Republican legislator called for an investigation Wednesday into the inadvertent release of Social Security and tax identification numbers by the Wisconsin Revenue Department.

Private information released by state in report to real estate industry

Published: July 25, 2012
Tags: appraisers, Department of Revenue, property tax, real estate agents

Social Security and tax identification numbers of more than 110,000 people and businesses who sold property in Wisconsin last year were inadvertently included on an annual sales report publically available on the Internet for three months, the state Department of Revenue said Tuesday.

Public works projects sacrificed as revenues shrink (UPDATE)

Published: September 27, 2011
Tags: income tax, National League of Cities, property tax, schools

By Daniel Wagner AP Business Writer Washington — More than half of U.S. cities have reduced staff, canceled construction projects or raised fees this year, according to a report from the National League of Cities that catalogs the vast damage from shrunken property- and income-tax revenue. Cities are struggling from the same problems that have [...]

Slight property tax increase projected under Walker’s budget plan

Published: April 15, 2011
Tags: Legislative Fiscal Bureau, property tax, Scott Walker

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A new projection shows that property taxes statewide would increase slightly over the next two years under Gov. Scott Walker’s budget. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau analysis released Friday projected a 0.8 percent tax bill increase on the bills that arrive in December and a 0.4 percent increase in 2012. Those estimates [...]

County caught between large and small tax bills

Published: May 26, 2010
Tags: cleanup, contamination, demolition, development, Milwaukee County, Plating Engineering Co., property tax, West Allis, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Sean Ryan sean.ryan@dailyreporter.com Forgiving $29,900 in back taxes on a contaminated half-acre in West Allis is the only way Milwaukee County can avoid a $150,000 demolition bill for a building on the land. The building at 1928 S. 62nd St. was a Plating Engineering Co. plant in which West Allis in 2006 discovered 30 chemical [...]

Schools face tough tax decisions

Published: May 21, 2010
Tags: democrat, education jobs bill, Feingold, Pommer, property tax, Republican, school districts, schools, stimulus, Tony Evers

By Matt Pommer Which is worse: high property taxes or a growing federal deficit? The issue seems linked to the $23 billion education jobs bill pending in Congress. A total of $415 million would go to Wisconsin schools. The bill could pertain especially to affluent school districts that have suffered up to 15 percent reductions [...]

Be prepared for sales tax increase

Published: April 2, 2010
Tags: budget, income tax, Pommer, property tax, recession, sales tax, unemployment, Wisconsin Way

By Matt Pommer Wisconsin’s economic downturn in the early 1980s was far worse than the current recession if seasonally adjusted unemployment numbers are the measuring stick. The state experienced 13 straight months of double digit unemployment in the early 1980s. Unemployment has not topped 10 percent in the present downturn. But the economic crunch is [...]

County tax limits threaten roadwork

By Paul Snyder La Crosse County has more than $20 million in highway work it cannot afford. And unless a bill to repeal a 17-year-old tax limit becomes law, County Administrator Steve O’Malley said, the situation will get worse: The county will have to lay off Highway Department staff members. “Right now, we can only [...]

Tax debate fuels GOP campaigns

Published: March 5, 2010
Tags: election, GOP, governor, Mark Neumann, Pommer, property tax, race, referendum, Republican, Scott Walker
Comments: 3

By Matt Pommer Republican gubernatorial hopeful Mark Neumann contends his GOP opponent Scott Walker is “promising the world to get elected” to avoid a focus on his years as Milwaukee County executive. Truth rings in Neumann’s assessment that Walker is making a lot of promises about taxes. Walker’s latest promises include freezing the property tax [...]

Shared-revenue bill could boost local projects (UPDATE)

By Paul Snyder Local governments facing a grim future of postponed roadwork and delayed capital projects are hailing a bill that would force the state to return more money. But standing between the bill’s proposal and passage is the equally grim reality that the state doesn’t have any more money to return. “This sounds kind [...]